ABSTRACT
The term 'new' political economy is used in two different – though complementary – ways. First, 'new' political economy refers to the body of theoretical literature that will be used to enframe the study. A second sense in which the term 'new' political economy is deployed refers to the actual empirical aspects of contemporary US-Caribbean relations that are being investigated. This chapter begins by placing the present study within the particular context of US-Caribbean area studies and then identifies the general research questions that will be subsequently addressed. It also introduces the global apparel industry as a case study to be used and also draws attention to a set of more specific research questions that will be asked in relation to this. Finally, the chapter sets out briefly the overall structure of the book and describes how the remainder of it will proceed.
